Telecaster Build

I’ve just been given a mixed bag of bits, some old some new, to put together…. I think there’s a very nice Telecaster in there somewhere!  But where to start?How about at the top, the machine heads.  First the guides.. they’re rather tight so rather than hammer them in and risk damaging them I pressed them […]

Custom Build

An interesting little one, finishing of a project.  Most of the hard work has been done, and they’ve made a good job of it, but I’ve been asked for a little help with the last little bit to get it playing properly… The first thing, the wiring.  A couple of dry joints just needed sorting out…..With the […]

Epiphone Flying-V

I can’t say as I really like these, but a classic nonetheless.  This one’s going to get an upgrade with a new pair of pickups…While the pickguard is off, wiring in the new pickups, I also gave the pots and switch a clean…. Also, while the strings were off, I gave the fretboard a good clean…and oil…The new […]

3 Pickup Telecaster

I love these modern Telecasters, the only problem is you can’t get the original sound of the neck and bridge pickups together?  The switch works just like a Strat’.What I’m going to do is add a mini switch to just bring in the bridge pickup no matter what else is selected.  The modern players have […]

Troublesome Jack

Jack sockets quite often present problems, they wear out and the contacts become loose, this one was proving to be tricky on several counts…. It keeps falling out as the locking plate’s rather bent and twisted out of shape and isn’t locking into the wood.  There’s also a third wire, I don’t know what that’s […]

Washburn – Rebuild and upgrade

Not the greatest of guitars, but with a bit of work this one is going to something special!I I’ve been given almost a free hand to do whatever I want so I’m looking forward to producing something different. The first thing it needs is a god clean. The next step is to sort out the […]

Gibson Les Paul, Fret-dress and Setup

A nice old guitar but in need of a little TLC… The frets and fretboard are rather worn for one.The bridge pickup is loose, and the pickup switch is rather intermittent.With the strings off the reason for the loose pickup is clear, the brass threaded end has pulled out.  A fairly easy fix.The frets are […]

Fender Stratocaster, pickup switch

I do love these, they look just fantastic. This one just has a slight problem with the pickup switch.  A slightly dry contact somewhere leading to an intermittent contact.  Switch cleaner can sometimes do the trick but ultimately the only guaranteed way is to replace it…  The new one in place… That should do the […]

US Fender Stratocaster HSS to SSS conversion

A nice US built Strat’ but the owner wanted it converted back to the standard three single coils. The most obvious thing is the pick-guard, I’ll have to get a new one of those or it will look naff.  Rather than re-use the old switch and volume pot I think it better to replace them with new […]

Hohner Rockwood Re-build – 2nd update

I’ve had quite a problem getting the lacquer to adhere to the surface of the fretboard.  However, I’ve got a good base coat on now.  Once it’s good and dry I’ll use some fine “wet and dry” to blend it back to get a nice flat surface and put another half-dozen coats on. While I’m waiting for […]